This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art, which may be related to various aspects of the present invention that are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
A residential network or home network is set of digital device communicating in a local area network. It usually comprises a variety of electronic devices that may be interconnected through various network technologies, either wired or wireless. It may comprise among others computers, printers, mobile devices, television decoder or television set. It usually comprises a gateway providing Internet access through a broadband connection. A decoder, also called a set-top box, is adapted to receive content from a server generally located outside the residential network. In particular, a decoder may receive content from a server device located in the Internet. The decoder accesses the Internet through a residential gateway. It is generally connected to the gateway through a wired link that provides a good transmission quality. However, transmission quality of some wireless technologies is sufficient today to permit reliable transmissions. In particular, in some home environments, it is possible to wirelessly connect a decoder to a gateway. Of course in some configurations, it is known that wireless transmission may not be reliable enough and a wired link is preferred. In general the gateway comprises a wireless access point module that allows wireless stations to connect to the residential wired network and to the Internet.
The residential network may comprise several decoders. In particular the decoders may be connected to a same content provider and provide the multi-room function where a decoder is the master and the other ones are slaves. A slave decoder is connected through the master decoder to access the content provider services. Decoders are interconnected through home network technologies, either wired or wireless. Most decoders now contain a Wi-Fi module. Slaves contain a Wi-Fi client module to connect to the master having a Wi-Fi access point module. When the wireless transmission quality is too low for video transmission, a wired connection is required between the client and the master. More generally, the client located close to the master may be wirelessly connected to the master, and the clients located too far away from the master have to use a wired link to connect to the master. This is not convenient because it requires setting up a wired network in the home environment to enable reliable transmissions between the master and all client devices located far away from the master.